I Can't Live Without You
by Hammsters
Summary: She was going to make damn sure he made it out. He'd never considered dying, but saving her made it seem worth it. Two best friends are being sent to the first Hunger Games, and they'll do anything to make sure the other one wins. Even die for them.
1. Chapter 1

**Yea, I realized how poorly written this story really was, so I'm doing a little editing heare, some rewriting there, to bring you a much better of my Hunger Games story. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Do I LOOK like Suzanne Collins to you?**

**T**he Dream:

I'm standing in an empty field. A river snakes around me in a loop on three sides. My worst nightmare. I hear voices in my head, calling me. Each one is a distant memory, each voice a friend who's just out of reach and calling for help. Images flash before my eyes. They're transparent like ghosts, the ghosts of my past haunting every decision I've made in this horrible place, every action I've taken to ensure he makes it out alive.

Then, it just comes to me. Sam's in danger, he needs my help. I run every way I can but it always ends in that awful black river. The cool spray traps me and the water burns like it's never burned before. It feels as though it's entered into my veins. I'm scared. I call for help, but no one answers. A sharp continuous pain in both my forearms that I've felt ever since I can remember sears hotter. I look down and there are hand-shaped burns on them. Only, I _don't_ get burned. Fire's never hurt me, so what could possibly leave that kind of angry red mark. Boiling water pours out of cuts in my skin that I don't remember having, causing me to shriek. Then I hear a voice.

"MaddiGrace!" My best friend's voice calls out my name. I look around, but I can't see him anywhere. "MADDIGRACE!" he calls again, panic seeping into his voice. I try to call his name, but no sound escapes my mouth. Suddenly, I can't breathe. I fall to my knees, holding my stomach, gasping for breath. I hear cruel laughter. There's something familiar about it, something enticing. A false sense of security envelopes me as the source of the laughter grows closer and I see two glowing eyes surrounded completely by a large black mass. The wretched water on my skin turns hotter and I see that it's turned to blood. Somehow, I know it's not mine. The world around me spins and goes black.

I wake up with a start, breathing heavily and drenched in sweat. I feel a sensation of fear and emptiness in the pit of my stomach but I can't figure out why. Then I remember. Today's the first reaping.

My name is MaddiGrace Moore, my best friend is "little Sammy" Holloway, and we are both sixteen years old. We live in District 12 in Panem. We haven't always lived here. Well, kind of. We've lived here all our lives, but up until 2012, it was the United States of America and District 12 was Appalachia. Then one week, my mom took my little brother Rocky and me and we hid in the basement.

That week, everything rumbled, the streets and the world outside burned. Sirens screamed so loud our ear drums threatened to burst, and all I could think about was my family and the Holloway's. Would we be able to make it through this, this- what would you call it? Disaster? Armageddon? Apocalypse? All of the above? Would anyone?

At the end of the week the rumbling ceased, The shrieking ended and the shrieks of the sirens stopped. We risked going out and- BAM! Hello Panem, hello Capitol. It was all there, their little utopia was waiting for us to come out. It almost seemed planned. Come to think of it, it probably was. The majority of the freedoms that our ancestors lived and died for were taken away, we were mostly left to starve, and hunting was punishable by death. The districts barely scraped by, but somehow they did. Only, our new lifestyles didn't settle well with anyone. We rebelled. For three long months that felt like years, we struggled against the Capitol and their far superior weaponry and armies. Obviously, we failed, or we wouldn't be in this mess and I wouldn't have a story to tell in the first place. We were punished and District 13 was destroyed altogether. It's 2013. It's been a long year.

Now for the big question. How are we being punished? Well, the Capitol may not be fair, but it sure is creative. Every year, starting this year, we have the Hunger Games. Two tributes- a boy and a girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen- from each district are chosen to compete. They go to the Capitol, get all primped and primed and treated like kings, then off to the arena with you! We haven't been told much, but we know that only one of the 24 tributes will be allowed to return home. The rest will never see their families again. That's where the reaping day comes in. Two names are chosen from to giant glass bowls. One boy and one girl.

I'm from the Seam, the poorest part of section District 12 that was already in pretty bad shape before the Capitol came and made it worse. All my friends are from the Seam. We're all in desperate need of money and applied for tesserae- which gives you enough food and such to last about a year per person. We got grain, oil, and increased chances of being in the Hunger Games. I have my brother, my grandparents, and my mom who's pregnant with triplets- My father died of some disease a few months ago. I wouldn't let my brother apply for tesserae, that's too dangerous for him. No only I could risk that. My name is in that bowl 25 times. The odds are NOT in my favor.


	2. Chapter 2

I slide under the "electric" fence into the Meadow. It's almost never on because the governor and the Peacekeepers used to be real big on hunting before the Capitol took over, and they still like to go out for fun every now and then. My best friend since birth, Sam Holloway, is waiting there for me with a big smile, like always.. I'm pretty sure the boy standing before me is the most optimistic person ever to be born without some form of clinical insanity. He can put a positive spin on anything and everything. Sam has three little brothers, a baby sister, his mom, and his grandparents to take care of. There's a grand total of 43 slips of paper reading "Sam Holloway" in that glass bowl, more than anyone else in the district. The only person anywhere near touching that number is me. Besides that, he's got two more years until he's safe from the reaping, and those numbers are only going to increase until then. Only Sam wouldn't be nervous about those odds. Our little ray of sunshine.

"Hey there lil' Sammy" I say to the boy in front of me who, at 6'4" tall, was anything but little. Especially in comparison to my petite, five foot nothing frame.

"Hey ya MG" he messes up my hair and I punch him in the gut. _No one touches the hair._ "Hey! What if I get picked? Do you really want that to be my last memory of you?" He asks with a look of mock-hurt on his face. I glare.

"Don't talk like that! I'm already scared to death without you making it even worse!" It's true. Sam and I have been inseparable, literally all our lives. We were born on the same freaking day, two rooms and five minutes away from each other. We've lived next door to each other all our lives and I'm pretty sure he's spent more time in my house than he's ever spent in his own. If he gets picked, I don't know what I'll do. I don't know how to live without him. Sam makes a pouty face.

"Aw, I'm sowwy MaddiGwace" I slap him on the arm and he laughs. Together, we walk off to the field of berries we found a few months ago and pretend today is just a normal day. Of course, deep inside we know it isn't, because at 2 o'clock, we'll make our way to the town square with everyone else. At 2 o'clock, two kids lives will change drastically. At 2 o'clock, we'll have to say goodbye to two kids forever. Those two kids could be- and there's a good chance it will be- us.

Yup, it's definitely better not to think too much about it.

Sam and I leave the Meadow and walked to the town square with everyone else at 2 o'clock. When we get there we split up and I went to the section roped off for 16 year old girls. I looked around and saw my little brother Rocky and Sam's little brother Max standing in the section for 12 year old boys. They were both pale, jittery, and, despite the fact that neither of them had tesserae, scared silly. Poor things. I can't imagine how they're feeling right now. It's one thing to be sixteen and have that possibility, but twelve year olds need their families more than anyone. They need to be nurtured and cared for and taught the right way to do things. How can they get the love they need if they leave and are never able to come back? I'd give anything to be able to hug my little Rocky right now and tell him everything's going to be okay, even if it would cause him to drop dead of embarrassment. A small, smiley woman wearing a blue wig walked up to the platform and introduced herself as Maysilee. She began telling the history of Panem's one year. Only a Capitol person could make a lecture about Panem's one year last an hour longer than any American history lecture.

Then Maysilee finished the history and said, "Now, to pick the tributes. Ladies first!" She reached into the bowl and pulled out a slip of paper. My heart thuds like crazy in my chest. _Please don't be me, please don't be me, please don't be-_ "MaddiGrace Moore!"

**Sam's POV**

My blood goes cold and I can't breathe as Maysilee, the lady in the blue wig calls the name "MaddiGrace Moore." My best friend is going to the Hunger Games. I might never see her again. I- I can't- I can't think straight. MaddiGrace can't be going. This isn't how it's supposed to happen. I can't just go on living without her, I don't even know how to try.

I look over at MaddiGrace. She's white as a ghost and frozen like a statue. Terrified. Someone nudges her forward and she walks up to the platform, trembling. I want to run up, give her a hug, tell her it's going to be okay. I want to volunteer to take her place, but I can't make my mouth move. It crosses my mind that I'm not allowed to volunteer for her anyway.

"Are you MaddiGrace?" Maysilee asks. MaddiGrace nods stiffly. She's trying to stay calm, But I know her too well. She's petrified.

I think about her family. Who's going to take care of them? I am, of course. But I have my own family to look after too. My seven family members, the four members of the Moore family (seven before the end of the Games) and me. That's a lot of people, and there's only one of me. I'm not sure I can handle that on my own. I mean, I could teach Rocky and Max to hunt, but would they want to learn? Would they be any good at it? And I'm going to the mines in two years. If MaddiGrace doesn't come back… No. I can't think about that.

Somebody elbows me hard in the ribs, interrupting my train of thought.

"Dude, you're on!" At first, I'm confused. On what? Then it dawns on me. MaddiGrace isn't going to the Hunger Games alone. There's always two tributes and someone else has to go too. No, MaddiGrace won't be alone.

I'm going with her.


	3. Chapter 3

**MaddiGrace's POV**

Somebody gives Sam a shove forward and he stumbles onto the stage. He walks up and gives me a weak smile, trying to stay strong for me, for his family, for everyone. I try to do the same, but then again, I'm no Sam Holloway, panic is a good friend of mine.

"Hi MaddiGrace"

"Hey ya lil' Sammy" He gives me a concerned look that says _are you okay?_ I nod and stare at the floor. I hear people muttering in discontent in the audience. "Not them" I hear a few people say.

"Well, I'm sorry to say that we haven't been completely honest with you." Maysilee continues awkwardly. "There's a reason only one tribute will return. The other 23 tributes won't survive. They will die during the Hunger Games." People in the crowd gasp in horror. Maysilee plows through. "In the weeks before the games, you will be trained to fight and taught to use the different weapons and supplies you'll find in the arena. Once in the arena, you'll be expected to fight to the death. If you refuse to fight, you'll leave us no choice but to, uh, _terminate _you."

"No!" I gasp. I bury my face in my hands. I don't want to die andI don't want Sam to get killed either, but if you think about it, odds are, we'll both get killed. Sam hugs me and I sob into his chest. He rubs my back and whispers "It'll be okay" but I know it won't. I can hear the fear and pain in his voice. He knows it won't too. Looking up at him, I come to a resolution here and now. I know what I have to do. I can't save myself, I'll probably be one of the smallest people there, but I'll make damn sure that Sam is the kid that walks out of that arena. I owe it to him. On a more selfish note, a life without my best friend isn't a life I want to live.

People in the crowd boo and shout at Maysilee "That's not right and "You can't do that!" There are more outburst of "Not them!" and people who know us shout "Save the Twins!" as they have affectionately nickname us. But it doesn't change a thing. They play the anthem and the Peacekeepers escort us to the Justice building to say our final goodbyes. I wait by myself for family and friends to come. The first to show up are my mom and my brother.

"Hi mom" I say when she walks in. I force a smile and try and calm her.

"Oh sweetie!" she cries and hugs me tightly. I want to collapse and cry, but I've got to be strong for her and Rocky. They need to know that everything will be all right for them.

"It'll be okay" I say, Sam's words bouncing around in my mind.

"I just can't believe this is happening to you. Both of you! How is that possible?"

"Well, I had one of the highest number of my name in the bowl. Second only to Sam. Odds really weren't in our favor. We should've seen this coming. But it'll be okay. I promise, one of us is coming back." I rub her back and try to make her feel better. Rocky takes a step closer. "Hey Rocky. You okay?" he nods but his eyes are red. "I need you to promise me something" He nods eagerly.

"Of course! Anything!"

"I need you to be strong. Take care of mom and grandma and grandpa. Sam and I have traps set in the forest. I've shown you where to find them right?" He nods. "Reset them everyday and take out whatever they catch, but save half of them for the Holloway's. Get berries from the field I showed you last month. Can you do that?"

"Yes"

"Good. Stay strong for me Rocky." He hops onto my lap and trap me in a hug. Then he gets off and sits on the couch next to me.

"MaddiGrace?" He asks in a whisper.

"What is it buddy?" He seems scared.

"Are you and Sam… are you going to try and kill each other like that lady said?"

"Of course not!" I gasp. I'm shocked. Did he really think it would come to that. He knows that Sam and I would die to protect each other. Maybe that's what he's really afraid of. That I'm going to give my life so that Sam can make it out of there. Well, Rocky does know me better than everyone but Sam.

"Is somebody else going to?" Yikes. I hadn't considered that yet. I give him the only honest answer I can.

"I don't know Rocky. I don't know."

**Sam's POV**

People drop in and visit. Friends, neighbors, people who know me from the market, girls who have crushes on me (what can I say? I'm a fairly decent looking guy.), my family. But none of these stick out as much as the last one.

Rocky walks in quietly. I can tell he's been crying, but now he's all business.

"Hey Rocky. How've you been?"

"I just went to see MaddiGrace," that explains the crying, "She doesn't think she's coming back." This surprises me. MaddiGrace is always bursting with confidence. It's one of the things I like best about her. To hear that she's already given up isn't right.

"She's coming back. Don't worry" I reassure him.

"I'm counting on you to take care of her. She didn't say so, but I can tell she expects you to win. I'm not saying I don't agree. She's 5 feet tall and gets sick really easily and she's just plain tiny and you're one of the tallest, strongest guys I know, but I swear, if she gets hurt and you're within a 2 mile radius of her, I'm holding you accountable. You got it?" I've never seen him like this. He's my little brother's best friend, my best friend's sweet little brother, District 12's perky little Energizer bunny. Now he's dead serious, and he's threatening me for the sake of his sister.

"Don't worry. I'll look after her"

"You better protect her. If my sister dies, it better be quick and painless. If another tribute threatens her or tries to hurt her, they die. If you don't protect her, if you hurt her, you'll have worse things than the Games to worry about." His glare is Icy cold, and suddenly, I'm terrified of the 12 year old boy in front of me. He's small like his sister, but a boy like him driven by anger and loss could easily do some serious damage. He sees my fear and his face softens. "Oh God, Sam, I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm just worried about MaddiGrace. I'm so sorry. You're going to the Hunger Games, you've got enough on you plate. You don't need to be saddled with this crap. I'm sorry" For a second I think, _what is this kid, bipolar? _But of course I don't say that. I understand what he's going through. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to MaddiGrace.

"It's okay. She's your sister. You're worried about her. I am too. I'll protect her, I swear on my life." He smiles weakly.

"Thanks Sam. I'll help Max take care of your family." I smile.

"Thanks." He has no idea what that promise means to me. I'd threaten anyone, even MaddiGrace, with his threats a million times to protect my little brothers and sisters. The Peacekeepers come and tell Rocky he has to leave. He starts for the exit, but he stops in the door and looks back.

"Oh, and Sam? Good luck out there." Then he turns and walks away. I think about what he's said and make a decision that'll change everything. I'll do what he asked. I've never really considered dying, but saving MaddiGrace makes it seem worth it.


	4. Chapter 4

**MaddiGrace's POV**

After an hour, the last of my visitors have been forced to leave and the Peacekeepers come to take me to the train. When I get there, I want more than anything to run to Sam and have him comfort me and tell me it's going to be all right, that we'll escape, or find some way to bend the rules. But it's a selfish impulse. He's going to the Hunger Games too. He needs space, time to freak out and be scared. I know him well enough to know that he won't show his fear around me. He'll put on a brave face and try to tough it out. If it was just him going, he might've gotten angry or upset and let me comfort him, but I'm going too. He thinks he has to be calm and make me feel better, just like he always has. I love the kid, but he thinks it's his job to protect me and that just doesn't seem healthy at a time like this. I can't make him do that. In a few days, maybe he'll see that I don't need to be comforted.

Instead I go to my room, or compartment, or whatever you call it and get ready. After all, I'm going to be on camera at some point, I'd better look good. Besides, it's been a year since I've had a hot shower, nail polish, cute clothes, cute shoes, and hair care products (Oh, God, how I've missed curling irons.) I spend a little more time getting ready than necessary: washing my hair about six times, brushing it for about 10 minutes, blow drying it, and happily reuniting myself with the thick, bouncy black curls I had to say goodbye to a year ago- when the Capitol took over we couldn't afford to keep my straighteners, make up, curling irons, necklaces, nicer clothes, etc.

I pull out a white cami, a black leather jacket that I wear over it, and put on dark skinny jeans and black heeled boots that go up to my knees. Then I paint my nails dark blue to match my eyes (even though they will inevitably be violet or green tomorrow), put on a little make up and somehow manage to not poke myself in the eye with the eyeliner. _There, _I think to myself, _now let's go meet Maysilee and my mentor._

**Sam's POV**

I spend a little extra time combing my hair and making sure I look okay. Even though I remained one of the better looking guys back at 12, I'd become a mess compared to standards from before the Capitol took over. My hair wasn't always dirty blonde after all. Besides, I need to look good for… ahem… certain people.

I walk into the dining room and sit down at the table with Maysilee and two people I can only assume are the mentors. MaddiGrace isn't here yet. We wait. Staring at all the delicious food in front of me would be torture even if I wasn't starving and a guy. It smells so wonderful! I wonder if I'm expected to share this food with the rest of them…I sure hope not.

Suddenly, the room smells remarkably like strawberries as MaddiGrace rushes in. _Ha. I knew she'd end up using all the strawberry scented stuff. So predictable. _I think, smiling.

"I'm so sorry I kept you waiting like that" She says, an apologetic smile on her face. I look up and see why it took so long. Her cheeks are rosy red and her lips are shiny and glossed. Her eyes (blue today) look even prettier than usual, circled with a hint of black eyeliner and light colored eye shadow. Her longer than average side-bangs, which she brushed out of her eyes, frame her angelic face. Her black hair shines and curtains her back. Even curled, it stops just a few inches above her hips. The light hits her perfectly and you can see the slight glints of red and brown normally hidden in her dark mane. She looks gorgeous and I'm pretty sure I might be drooling.

"That's all right dear. Just sit down. After we eat, we'll talk about the Games" Maysilee says, breaking me out of my trance. We eat spaghetti, salad (normal and of the fruit variety) with the most delicious apple pie I've ever tasted for dessert. MaddiGrace and I scarf down the meal as fast as we can while still somehow managing to keep our manners. When we finish, Maysilee says, "All right! Let's check out your competition!"

"Is it me, or did those people look rather grossed out by us?" MaddiGrace asks.

"Let them be disgusted. Relish in the fact that they are. I hope it made them uncomfortable the sick bastards,' I mutter. She elbows me. "Well, they are sending us off to our death." She rolls her eyes like she gets sentenced to death every day and takes a seat in front of the TV. As the replay of the reapings comes on, one of the mentors takes out a notebook and begins scribbling down things about the other tributes.

The tributes:

District 1:

Boy- Flynn Fitzpatrick age 18-Difficult

Girl- Molly Sands age 17-Medium verging on difficult

District 2:

Boy-Zach Morris age 13- Easy prey

Girl- Amanda Baxter age 15- Medium

District 3:

Boy- Theodore (Teddy) Roberts age 17- Difficult

Girl- Amy Roberts age 17- Difficult

District 4:

Boy- Marc Cameron age 15- Medium

Girl- Corrie Nix age 14- Easy prey

District 5:

Boy- Alex Milligan age 15- Easy Prey

Girl- Marissa Sullivan age 14- Medium

District 6:

Boy- Nicholas Parker age 15- Easy prey

Girl- Emily Richard age 13- Easy prey

District 7:

Boy- Tex Houston age 16 *-Extremely difficult

Girl- Nicole Danforth age 15- Easy prey

District 8:

Boy- Dominick James age 13- Easy prey

Girl- Carter Roland age 12- Easy prey

District 9:

Boy- Jason Lark age 14- Easy prey

Girl- Chloe Mace age 15- Medium

District 10:

Boy- Andrew (Andy) Peterson age 12- Easy prey

Girl- Abigail Louis age 16- Medium

District 11:

Boy- Grant Anderson age 17- Difficult

Girl- Theresa (Reesey) Dunlap age 13- Easy prey

District 12:

Boy- Samuel (Sam) Holloway age 16- Strongly built, tall, handsome enough. Should be good with hand to hand combat, potentially protective, stands a good chance, difficult

Girl- MaddiGrace Moore age 16- small, sickly?, emotionally stable, smart, potentially protective, stands a good chance if she avoids face time with other tributes, medium

Most of the kids don't seem like much of a threat to me, but apparently the mentor thinks otherwise. A lot of them are younger than us and smaller than us. Well, smaller than me anyway. That little note he had about MaddiGrace worries me. Is she really only a medium threat? Would she be that easy for some of the other tributes to take out if she's forced to fight them?

We get about halfway through and only four people make a lasting impression. Flynn Fitzpatrick (but only because he's 18) and Amy and Teddy Roberts (but only because they're twin brother and sister.) Then they get to District 7. I can tell from the look of the boy, Tex Houston, that he is going to be a problem. He's tall, muscular, and their was a hardness in his eyes that tells me he doesn't mind that he's going to kill people.

He's made an impression on MaddiGrace too. A different kind of impression. The second he walks on stage, her eyes go wide and her jaw drops. I'm not the only one who's come close to drooling today. At first I'm confused. He doesn't seem that intimidating. He's tall, but he's probably two or three inches shorter than me. Then I get it. MaddiGrace thinks he's good looking. Being a guy, I have no idea if he's handsome or not, don't even have a clue. But what I do know is that MaddiGrace could do so much better. But it doesn't matter what I think, it matters what she thinks. And apparently, she thinks Tex Houston is hot.

I definitely do not like this Tex Houston kid.


	5. Chapter 5

**Finally! The tributes chapter new and improved! Hope you guys like it, I made quite a few changes. So, uh, yeah. Enjoy!**

\We've finally made it to the Capitol. Glancing out the window, I feel a strong urge to skip tone the rainbow streets singing merrily about Munchkin land with the Lollipop Guild. The buildings are a bright array of just about every color I've ever seen and the light bouncing off of every possible surface is blinding. Looking at MaddiGrace, I get the feeling she'd like nothing better than to spew all over the candy colored avenues.

"Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," she mutters quietly.

Citizens in gaudy neon colors and outrageously poofy and plumed clothing see our train and call to us in what has to be the most ridiculous accents I've ever heard, trying to get our attention. MaddiGrace looks seriously miffed. She pries open the window and opens her mouth to yell something inappropriate at them, but I stop her.

"Just let it go MG," I tell her before she can say anything she'll regret later. She just gives me the shit eye.

"Why should I? I think I have the right to share a few choice words for the people making us kill each other for their entertainment."

"I don't think cursing and yelling at them is going to keep you alive in the arena" I say. She thinks for a moment, sighs, and turns her attention to the windows opposite the crowd. She begins quenching her need to be rude by making faces at the other tributes arriving in trains next to ours. At first she's practicing horror movie faces and pretty much scares the heck out of anyone watching- she's got a serious talent for looking like a serial killer. But then she notices the little kids watching with terrified fascination and switches to funky faces, waggling her eyebrows, going cross eyed, impersonating people from the Capitol, imitating the faces girls in our class used to make when they wanted to look hot. Girls laugh, guys around our age whistle at her, and the younger kids make faces back. A boy the same age as us opens his window and calls over.

"Nice face!" he teases. "Real attractive! What are you, five?"

"So you can make ugly faces, but I can't?" MaddiGrace asks oh-so-innocently. He looks at her, confused.

"What are you talking about? I'm not making faces."

"Wait, so you mean you _actually _look like that? Whoops!" She laughs and the other tributes and I join in. MaddiGrace cocks her head to the side and smirks at him. "Gotcha." The boy doesn't look thrown at all. Instead, he starts shooting back insults, which she happily returns. The two go back and forth for a while like professionals while the rest of us look back and forth like it's a tennis match. After about ten straight minutes, he's running low on ammunition while MaddiGrace is still going strong. She fires a good one at him, and he stumbles slightly over words trying to string an insult together. When he can't do it, he turns red, then smiles and chuckles.

"Nice one. I'm Tex, and I would _love_ to know who you are" MaddiGrace blushes beet red, but shakes it off quickly.

"I'm sure you would. And I'd like to see the leader singer of my favorite band without a shirt. Looks like we're both out of luck." She leaves the window and skips off to her room. The boys and girls outside laugh when she passes by the windows and they see how incredibly short she is. Then Tex yells to the other kids,

"She was hot!" The boys agree whole-heartedly and the girls roll their eyes. Then, noticing that I am the only boy who hasn't yet shouted his agreement, he shouts, "Hey kid! What do you think? Am I right, or am I right?" I just shake my head at him.

"Hate to break it to you pal, but I ain't no pedo bear." Then I walk away from the window. I know that MaddiGrace is gorgeous, but I'm not telling these idiots that. Besides, I don't like the way that kid was looking at her. Something about him just doesn't seem right, though I can't put my finger on it. Behind me, I hear Tex say "Touchy, touchy." I still don't turn around.

**MaddiGrace's POV**

I hear Tex Houston yell, "She was hot!" and the other boys shout back their agreement. I must admit, it makes me feel a little giddy. I gotta admit, that kid is CUTE! There's nothing better than when a cute guy thinks you're hot. That probably sounds bad since most girls are all saying, "I just want a guy who loves me for my personality." I'll tell you here and now, that's a load of bull. Every girl just wants to be told she's prettier than your ex.

I hear the boys yelling to each other what they think and the girls all teasing them about it. Then Tex asks Sam what he thinks, and I'm slightly caught off guard. As far as I know, nobody asks Sam what he thinks of me that way. A lot of people are under the impression that we're brother and sister, and everyone else knows that we're too close for that kind of thinking. I have to admit though, I'm a little curious to hear what he says. I'm kind of hoping he'll agree. It'd be nice to know that he sincerely means it when he says I'm beautiful when a relationship ends bad. But he doesn't say anything, which is surprising.

If there is one thing I know from all our years of being best friends, it's that Sam has an opinion about everything. So hearing him respond so sarcastically came as a bit of a shock. But, as I mentioned, we're best friends. We don't think of each other as hot. Or, at least, he doesn't. I confess, I do sometimes think about what it would be like to date him, if I'd end up crushed like his six ex-girlfriends, or if I'd kick him to the curb and rarely give him another thought like my seven ex-boyfriends. I know he's the best looking teenager in District 12, but he's only my best friend and that's probably all he'll ever be. That's all I WANT him to be. I could never risk ruining our friendship over something as stupid as that.

**So peeps, what'd you think? Worthy of your time? I hope so. Please review and tell me if it was any good, cuz that'd probably make my day.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Yaaaay! More editting! I gotta say, this one took forever to go over, but I hope you all like it!**

Once we arrive in at the building we'll be staying in (they just stuffed us in what used to be the Sears Tower, those lazy bums) we eat a small dinner, just plain old cheese pizza (my favorite). The conversation at dinner, well, there's really none to speak of. Maysilee seems weary of us, probably due to Sam's constant rudeness to her; he's nice to everyone else, but he seems to harbor some inexplicable distaste for her. I do notice that today he does seem to make an effort at a more polite sort of hostility. We finish quickly and we're about to head off to bed, when, Maysilee tells us that tomorrow, we'll be meeting our stylists.

"Why do we need stylists?" I ask. I've been dressing myself for sixteen years now, and while I'm no fashionista, I think I've got the rhythm down at this point.

"It's just for public events, your first appearance, your interview, and when you go to the Training Room. They'll handle fancier outfits that you really wouldn't wear out., ones they designed themselves. Don't worry dear, I'm sure you'll be happy with them after some time. It's not your fault you've been so exposed to such drab clothing your whole life," she explains. Okay, so maybe Sam's rudeness isn't really unprovoked.

After deciding that the dining room isn't a safe place for me and my colorful vocabulary, I go to my room and brush my teeth three times. I mean, come on, I haven't had a dental check up in a year and I can't have the person who's going to be dressing me thinking I'm a disgusting slob. I quickly change into the warmest, comfiest pajamas I can find, then I hop into bed, and I'm asleep before my head even hit's the pillow.

In the morning, I pull on a purple hoodie and jeans and don't bother with make up. My mentor, Karen, shows me to the dressing room and then goes back to floor twelve, leaving me alone in the unfashionable wilderness. My prep team, some ridiculously dressed Nicki Minaj, Lady Gaga, and Katy Perry wannabes-none of which bother to mention their actual names- carefully examines me. They are delighted to learn that I do, in fact, shave and yes, I pluck my eyebrows. They look at my nails, which I have kept in perfect condition, and then, they obsess over my violet eyes. Apparently, eyes that color are rare. I don't have the heart to tell them that they're colored contacts- which I change everyday to hide my boring brown eyes- my eyes probably won't still be violet tomorrow. When they find out that there isn't much for them to fix they leave and- drum roll please- in comes Celia!

"Hello MaddiGrace, I'm Celia, your stylist," she says as she walks in. Celia's a pretty young woman in her mid-twenties with blonde hair, extremely dramatic make-up that's kind of like what Kiss would look like if they weren't so damn terrifying, and the height and weight of a 12 year old. I smile and shake her hand. "My gosh, you have such pretty eyes! I've never seen violet eyes before! It's strange, nobody seems to get the color right."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, some people have said you have green eyes, and I've also heard blue. You'd think they'd remember such a rare color." I laugh and she looks at me funny.

"Oh, they're remembering correctly." I say. Celia looks even more confused. I explain, "My eyes change color. Sometimes they're green, other times they're blue. Most days they're violet though." It's obviously a lie, but no one outside my family and Sam knows my eyes aren't really any of these colors.

"I've never heard of that happening before! But whatever, I'm just so glad I got a pretty tribute! Pretty girls always dress well. I was so worried I'd get one with bad taste in clothes. My ideas are somewhat… different. Some kids might not be comfortable with them. I'd hate to make one of you poor kids uncomfortable, especially on camera!" I change into the outfit she has for tonight. The shirt is a gray button down that stops right at the bottom of the front of my rib cage, two or three inches above my belly button. The shorts are gray super short-shorts. My shoes are black thigh-high lace up boots that stop about two or three inches below my shorts. I can see why she was worried that someone might not feel comfortable in this outfit, but I kind of like it. It reminds me of those Halloween costumes my mom would never let me buy from the juniors department.

Nhen she hands me and accessory, a yellow hard hat with a light on it. I put it on and the whole outfit suddenly makes so much more sense. I'm supposed to be a hot coal miner. Celia begins my make up. She puts black eyeliner on my eyes and mascara. She puts on a thin line of white eye-shadow and darkens the shade as she goes up my eyelid until she applies a black eye-shadow just below my eyebrows.

"I'm using darker shades that give your eyes a smoky look. The eyes are supposed to represent the ashes." Celia explains. She did a great job doing that. She applies a little more make up to my face. My cheeks are still red and rosy, but my skin has a grayish tint. It looks amazing.

Then Celia begins working on my hair. She brushes it until it practically glows, then she curls it. Even curled, it stops an inch or two below my belly button, longer than my shirt. She uses some kind of coloring to make the red and brown highlights in my hair thicker and more noticeable. Then she finishes and shows me a mirror.

"What do you think?" Celia asks excitedly. I'm shocked at what I see. Normally I look sweet and innocent., and what I see is anything but. I look absolutely, shockingly beautiful, but at the same time demonic. And I'm completely and totally loving it every second of it!

"Oh my god! I love it! Thank you so much Celia!" I hug her. She's surprised for a second, but she hugs me back.

Celia walks me to the room with the chariots we're going to ride through the city on. I'm dazzled by all the outfit's the people around me are wearing: there's little woodland pixies, mermaids, savages, fisherman. I think one person's supposed to be Moses, but I can't even begin to understand why. Tex Houston looks like some Roman gladiator, another outfit I don't get, although I have to say, if the point is to look hot, this kid's got my vote. Sam's waiting there by the District 12 chariot.

"Hey Sam!" I call, striding over to him. When he sees me his eyes bulge and his jaw drops. It's like he doesn't recognize me. He quickly shakes the shock off his face.

"Hey MaddiGrace! Like my outfit?" He says jokingly. I look at what he's wearing. His skin has the same grayish tint as mine. He's wearing black boots and gray miner's pants. His perfect messy blonde hair has black dust sprinkled over it. His dazzling blue eyes are sparkling with laughter, as always. His gray button down is unbuttoned, showing off his eight-pack, and the sleeves have been ripped off. It looks good on him, but it's a little bit ridiculous. I barely stifle a laugh. "It's okay, you can laugh. It's not like I designed it. I think Finnegan was desperate to make it look good. The outfit wasn't great, so he made me unbutton the shirt. He ripped off the sleeves while I was already wearing the shirt. I think he was hoping that women in the Capitol will like me for my muscles and my devilish good looks." He smirks. I burst out laughing. "Not working huh?" He says, feigning disappointment. I shake my head.

"I'm sorry, you look ridiculous!" I laugh. "You look more like Dan Marx that Halloween he tried to be the sexy plumber than a coal miner." He rolls his eyes.

"Oh great. Just what every guy wants to be when they go on national TV, a Dan Marx look alike," he replies sarcastically. I laugh harder.

I look around again at our fellow tributes. Some girls are wearing dresses and skirts. Some boys are wearing weird jumpsuits. The girl and boy from District 2 are completely covered in jewels. I feel like a little kid dressing up on Halloween. I catch a few kids staring in awe at Sam and me. I don't blame them. Our clothes are very different from everybody else's, and they look pretty good on us if I do say so myself.

After a few minutes, it's time for the ceremony to start. Karen and Jack, Sam's mentor, and Finnegan, his stylist, come to talk to us. We get bombarded with advice.

"Stand up straight, don't smirk. Try to keep looking pretty," Karen tells us.

"Look strong, fierce, terrifying. The crowd eats that stuff up. Sponsors have to love you" Jack adds.

"Sam! Quit slouching!" Karen snaps. I giggle and Jack shoots me a glare.

"Anything to add Finnegan?" He asks

"Hold hands or link arms or something," he replies. We must've given him a funny look, because he explains. "It'll show them that you're friends, and it'll help you keep your balance. Don't want you falling off the chariot now do we?" With that, Karen and Jack shove us onto the District 12 chariot. The chariot is kind of small, but there's enough space that if I wanted to, I could take two steps forward, three steps backward, or four steps away from Sam. I don't plan on it though. Like Finnegan said, I do NOT want to fall off. The chariots start to move and I begin to wobble. I grab Sam's hand and grip it tightly. He smirks at me.

"No smirking Sam" I correct, trying my best to sound like Karen. He laughs. I scowl. Then we exit the tunnel we were riding through. Oddly dressed Capitol citizens line the streets like the colorful wrappings in a candy store. Sam does his best to stop laughing and we try our best to look sinister and menacing. We keep up the charade for about five minutes until the anthem stops playing. The song they replace it with is the theme from "Star Wars." Sam and I… well you can't probably tell we're not the poster children for maturity. We bring out the goofiness in each other whenever we're hanging out, no matter who's around, and trying to be scary is just too hard. We can't help ourselves. Two seconds into the song, we're battling with imaginary light-sabers.

"Luke, I am your father!" I say in my best Darth Vader voice. Sam laughs.

"No!" He cries, falling to his knees. The citizens laugh and applaud our reenactment. Whoa. I forgot they were there for a second. We continue "battling" and talking in our finest Darth Vader and Yoda impressions until the song ends. The next song sounds incredibly similar to the song from "Superman."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Sam asks, a mischievous smile spreading across his face. I shrug

"What the hell?" I reply with a grin. He bends down and weaves his fingers together. I put my foot onto his hands and he lifts me into the air. I smile and wave to the crowd, trying my best not to start freaking out whenever the chariot wobbles a little bit. Then I lower myself onto his shoulders and whisper to him what I'm thinking. Sam nods in approval. He grabs the sides of my stomach and I'm in the air again, parallel to the ground. I strike a Superman pose and the crowd cheers and applauds. Sam puts me down. He lifts his arms in the air, flexes his muscles and yells,

"Boom, boom, firepower!" The crowd laughs. Then I go into what can best be described as a weight-lifter's pose and flex my non-existent muscles. Everyone laughs even harder. I point my index fingers like pistols and "shoot" in front of me. The boy from 11 sees me "shoot" and goes along with it, falling to his knees and holding his "gunshot wound." The crowd laughs. It couldn't have been better if we planned it. Then I bring my fingers to my face and blow off the "smoke" from my "firing." Then is stick my pretend pistols into their holsters (a.k.a., my pockets).

The song ends and "Eye of the Tiger" starts. Sam and I glance at each other, and I can't tell we're both thinking the same thing. This whole act is working for us, much better than anything else would. Why not keep it up? I begin rocking out to the air guitar while Sam pounds on imaginary drums. We sing/yell the song at the tops of our lungs. During the part with no words, we break out into our best (and by that I mean worst) 80's dance moves. I start doing the disco while Sam does the sprinkler. Sam and I look at each other and I quirk an eyebrow as if to ask a questing. He smiles and nods. Then we begin doing… the bus driver. When we get to the end of the song, we both slide forward on our knees, strumming our air guitars dramatically. I sing/scream at the ending, Steven Tyler style.

I swear, they're picking songs just to see what we'll do now. The next song is some kind of polka. Before I tell you our next stunt, you have to remember, they're playing a polka! They are _begging _for it! For this song we do the… chicken dance. It's a little embarrassing, and _extremely _immature, but the crowd is loving it.

"Is it me, or is this ridiculous? Like, even for us?" I ask. Sam shrugs.

"Hey, whatever it takes baby!" he continues, putting extra emphasis on every on every move. We continue dancing for about five minutes. I think they put the song on a loop. Then the next song starts. Sam and I freeze and look at each other in shock.

"They're not…" I start.

"It can't be…" He says, shaking his head. Oh, but it is,

"Friday, Friday!" Rebecca Black's voice sings. We both grin like idiots; we've struck gold. Sam and I both belt out the words full blast, making our voices sound all nasally and weird like Rebecca Black's. We know every single word. We've won over just about everyone in the audience. The next song is "Break Your Heart." Gotta love that Taio Cruz.

The first verse is all Sam. This time, we're actually putting on a show, dancing and singing to the best of our abilities. Sam's got a deep voice that makes you sigh and want to listen for hours. Throughout the whole verse, he's effortlessly making all the girls fall in love with him. I join in at the refrain. I'm not nearly as musically gifted as he is, but hey. I can hit the notes. When verse two comes along, it's my turn. This is gonna be fun.

The angle Sam took with his singing and dancing was trying to look like a hot player. I'm taking a slightly different approach: flirty. I dance around, winking, flipping my hair. I use Sam's presence to my advantage. He plays along and let's me make him into the victim of most of my flirting. I wrap my arms around his stomach and hug him tightly as I sing, I bat my eyes. A lot. Then I walk behind him, place both my hands on his shoulder, go on my tip-toes and sing into his ear. At the very end of the verse, I put my hands on both his shoulders and inch my face _very _close to his. Everyone thinks I'm going to kiss him. It _looks _like I'm going to kiss him. But I just mess up his hair and gently push him away. His eyes are wide; he's obviously stunned. It's very interesting.

**Sam's POV **

_Holy shit! _I think. I'm absolutely dumbfounded. MaddiGrace almost kissed me. And the weirdest part is, I kind of wish she did. I feel like a dork who the prettiest girl in school just flirted with. _I can't believe it! MaddiGrace almost kissed me! _I awaken from my internal freak out long enough to become vaguely aware of the fact that she's almost to the refrain.

"**If you fall for me,**

**I'm not easy to please**

**I might tear you apart**

**Told you from the start**

**Baby from the start**

**I'm only gonna break break**

**Your break break your heart"**

She sings. I join in a little late and MaddiGrace gives me a worried look that says "_Did I do something wrong?" _I look forward at the crowd as I start the rap.

**MaddiGrace's POV**

Sam's still a little bit shocked. He joins the refrain late, which makes me a little worried than I would be otherwise. Did I push the "flirting" too far? I try to forget about it. It's probably nothing.

When the song ends, the crowd is in an excited frenzy and I smile brightly. I bow and curtsy and blow kisses to the crowd. Sam bows and waves, but he's blushing (in a _very_ manly way of course), embarrassed that he froze in front of so many people.

The President gives a short speech which I pay absolutely no attention to, and then we pull back into the station where the parade started. Karen, Celia, Jack, and Finnegan are waiting for us, smiling like crazy people.

"Wow. You guys were so ferocious! I don't know about everybody else, but I was scared out of my wits!" Finnegan teases.

"Yeah, W\way to freeze up there kid!" Jack adds, elbowing Sam. He turns as red as a tomato.

"Aw, leave them alone!" Celia says, "You guys were great"

"The crowd loved you." Karen agrees. Finnegan sighs.

"You done good kids, you done good," he says, patting us both on the back.

We walk back to building we're staying in and ride up 12 floors in the elevator while I hum along to the elevator music. Sam looks at me strangely, and shakes his head at me like I'm the strangest thing he's ever seen. It's a look he's given me too often since we were kids.

"It's only, like, 10 o' clock. Wanna watch a movie when we get up there?" I ask Sam.

"Sure," he replies, smiling a little.

**Sam's POV**

MaddiGrace asks if I want to watch a movie and I say I will. We choose "Gladiator." It's an ironic decision considering how remarkably similar our current situation is to the gladiator fights, but it's one of our favorites. I notice MaddiGrace staring at me with worry clouding her perfect face.

"What's wrong?" I ask nervously.

"I'm really sorry about the thing during the parade. I know I pushed it too far Sammy, but I honestly didn't mean to."

"Don't worry about it. You didn't do anything wrong." I reassure her.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive"

"But you looked so shocked. I swear I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable!" She persists.

"You didn't. It's fine."

"Then why'd you look so… freaked out?' she asks. Well, obviously, I can't tell her it's because she almost kissed me and I wish she had. But she knows me too well to not be able to tell when I'm lying. So I reply a honestly as I can.

"I see how you've got all the boys back home falling for you." _Including me,_ I think. "I gotta admit, you're good" I laugh. She smiles and curls up next to me, resting her head on my shoulder. I smirk a little bit. A few minutes later I can hear her snoring quietly. I pull a blanket over her. I rest my head on hers and soon enough, I'm asleep too.

**To be honest, I hate all those point of view changes. I'm probably going to try to stick to one point of view in every story but this. It gets confusing otherwise. Oh well. I hope you all enjoyed the editted version!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey, I'd just like to say that I OWN NOTHING. Well, except for the characters, but the idea for the Hunger Games and all such glorious ideas belong to Suzanne Collins. I'm pretty sure I'm required by law to say that, so (dramatic background music) There you are. Enjoy the chapter!**

**MaddiGrace's POV **

I wake up on the couch, my head resting on an uncomfortable pillow. I look around and realize it's not a pillow. It's Sam's shoulder. We fell asleep watching the movie last night. For some reason, I don't want to move. I want to stay right where I am. I tell myself it's only because I don't want to wake Sam up. What else could it be?

I slowly get up from the couch and Sam stirs slightly, but he doesn't wake up. I get a bowl of cereal and a glass of mild and drop down onto a beanbag chair. I turn on the TV and start watching "Mulan." A few minutes later, Sam wakes up and groans, rubbing his back.

"Morning sunshine" I say, smiling brightly.

"What time is it?" He asks groggily.

"9:30" I reply.

"In the _morning?_ What is this, boot camp?" I roll my eyes. He groans again and gets up to grab himself toast and a Gatorade. A few minutes later, he's fully awake and as enthralled in Mulan's adventure as I am. Finally, the moment we've been waiting for comes. They begin singing "I'll Make A Man Out Of You." Being the nerds we are, we know every single word.

"Let's get down to business to defeat the Huns" Sam and I sing at the top of our lungs. "Did they send me daughters, when I asked for sons? You're the saddest bunch I ever met. But you can bet, before we're through, mister I'll make a man out of you."

"I'm trying to sleep in here!" Karen yells from her room. Sam grins and sings louder.

"Tranquil as a forest, but a fire within. Once you find your center, you are sure to win. You're a spineless, pale, pathetic lot, and you haven't got a clue! Somehow I'll make a man out of you!"

"Would you SHUT UP!" Jack screams. We just continue.

"I'm never gonna catch my breath. Say goodbye to those who knew me. Why was I a fool in school for cutting gym? This guy's got 'em scared to death! Hope he doesn't see right through me. Now I really wish that I knew how to swim!"

"Could you be any louder?" Celia whines.

"You really shouldn't have asked that" I say.

"Cuz we can" Sam adds.

"AND WE WILL!" Sam and I shout in unison. We continue the song even louder. "TO be a man you must be swift as a coursing river. To be a man with all the force of a great typhoon. To be a man with all the strength of a raging fire. Mysterious as the dark side of the moon!" Finnegan comes in and chucks a pillow at my head. I duck at the last minute and it hits Sam instead. Sam chases after Finnegan, singing as he goes. "Time is racing toward us till the Huns arrive! Heed my every order and you _might _survive! You're unsuited for the rage of war! So pack up! Go home, you're through! How could I make a man out of you?" Finnegan, apparently admitting defeat, goes into the closet and comes out with cotton balls stuffed in his ears. He shoots us a glare and stomps out. Sam smiles triumphantly and drops back into his seat. "To be a man you must be swift as a coursing river. To be a man with all the force of a great typhoon. To be a man with all the strength of a raging fire. Mysterious as the dark side of the moon! (To be a man) You must be swift as a coursing river, (be a man) with all the force of a great typhoon, (be a man) with all the strength of a raging fire. Mysterious as the dark side of the moon!" The end comes. Sam and I jump up, kick our legs out karate style and shout "Wah!" like the warriors in the movie. And for reasons unknown to me, Sam howls like a wolf. We applaud ourselves.

"Yes, yes, you're wonderful. Now will you shut the hell up?" Jack yells. I giggle and Sam rolls his eyes, but we're quiet for the rest of the movie.

**Sam's POV**

Jack, Karen, Finnegan, and Celia come in just as "Mulan" ends. It's not the greatest movie, but MaddiGrace loves it so I put up with it. Besides, singing "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" at the tops of our lungs annoys the heck out of people, and therefore has good entertainment value.

We sit down with our mentors and stylists and wait patiently while they eat their breakfasts.

"You'll be going to the Training Room starting today." Karen informs us. She describes to us how we'll be learning different skills that will help us survive in the arena. Out of the blue, MaddiGrace starts whistling "I'll Make A Man Out Of You." The adults groan and I chuckle. Finnegan and Jack roll their eyes at us.

"Well, we've got to go and make sure your outfits are okay. See ya in a bit" Celia and Finnegan rush out.

**MaddiGrace's POV**

"Okay. Let's work on our strategies. What are you guys good at?" Jack asks.

"I'm pretty good with setting traps and I'm pretty strong" Sam says. Understatement of the millennium.

"I'm good at starting fires, archery, and knife throwing" Everyone stares at me in shock. I start to explain, but Jack cuts me off.

"I'm a little afraid to know" The others nod and I shrug.

"Okay Sam, don't spend more than five minutes at the snares station or the weight lifting station. MaddiGrace, try to avoid the archery, knife throwing, and fire starting stations all together. If your opponents think of you as threats, you two won't last long in the arena." I nod my head, but I'm slightly disappointed. I'm a bit of a show-off, and you could say I have a "thing" for fire, although I've hidden it from everyone. It'll be hard to resist that fire table. Equally difficult will be avoiding the archery and knife throwing stations. As I mentioned before, I'm a show-off. I announce that I'm going back to my room. When I say it, Sam looks a little put out, but I pretend not to notice. He's been acting weird lately, and since he always acts even weirder when I point it out, I've learned to just ignore it. I go to my room and listen to my iPod for about half an hour until Celia comes and hands me the outfit I'm supposed to wear to the Training Room. It's a green t-shirt with splashes of color and swirls that almost reminds me of Zero Xposure shirts, and black shorts with a white stripe down both sides. I braid my hair back and go out to meet with Sam. He's wearing basketball shorts, gym shoes with cool stripes on them and a black and white baseball style shirt. Instead of fixing his bed-head, he slaps on his old White Sox cap. We go together to the elevators, and ride down a few floors until we're underground. _Here goes, _I think as the elevator door slides open.

**Sam's POV**

MaddiGrace and I step out of the elevator into a hallway leading to the Training Room. It's 12:00 on the dot, the exact time we're supposed to get there, but we're the last ones to arrive.

We sit down on the floor with everyone else. The head trainer explains a few rules to us and warns us to be careful because equipment is expensive. She also whines about how hard it would be to have to replace a tribute this late. I'm glad they're _so _concerned for our safety.

MaddiGrace and I travel from station to station: camouflage, snares, fire building, etc. I learn that I've got a knack for spear throwing. I notice Tex following MaddiGrace around like a lost puppy. We split up and a few boys join Tex. It's a little pathetic. I notice a few girls following me. Great. Just great. I smile politely and they start giggling. They even make MaddiGrace's stalkers look a little less pathetic.

I look over at MaddiGrace a few minutes later and see Tex putting his arms around her, "helping" her shoot the bow and arrow. She's pretending she doesn't know a thing about archery. I feel anger and jealousy bubble up inside me, but I try to dismiss it. I start helping my admirers at the camouflage station. Before I leave, I stuff a box of face paint into my pocket.

After about a half and hour, I head towards the fire building station, my admirers on my tail. MaddiGrace walks over too, her suitors following close behind. Everything goes well for a while. MaddiGrace successfully starts ten fires. The instructor looks angry, unhappy to shown up by a sixteen year old girl from District 12. MaddiGrace is sitting on the floor, folded arms on the table and her chin resting on her arms. She's gazing absent-mindedly into the bright orange-yellow flames. Boys try talking to her but nothing, not even the rapidly, (dangerously rapid) growing fires snap her out of it. While everyone tries to break her out of her trance so she can put the fires out, I pocket two boxes of matches.

At 2 o'clock, we head back to the twelfth floor. MaddiGrace set the fire building station on fire twice and somehow managed to set the snares table on fire too. I go to my room and empty my pockets. I've, er, "collected" two boxes of matches, three ropes, a box of face paint, six instructional signs and a fire starting instruction manual. Oh, and Tex's watch. Haha. It's weird. Besides the watch (which I took from Tex for being an annoying little putz) I didn't plan on stealing any of these things. I don't want them. I never did. Suddenly, the door to my room swings open and MaddiGrace strides in.

"Hey Sam, wanna-" Her eyes go wide as she takes in the array of objects spread across the floor. "What's this?"

"I- I- I can explain!" I stutter.

"Is this all stuff from the Training Room?" She asks in a demanding voice. She's speaking quietly so no one hears.

"It's not what it looks like!" I say, my voice weak.

"Really? Because it looks like all this is stuff you _stole _from the Training Room!" She whispers harshly. I don't answer. "Sam, they could execute you for this if you get caught! What were you thinking?"

"I didn't mean to! You have to understand!" Her eyes soften.

"What do you mean you didn't mean to?" "It was like a reflex. I couldn't stop myself. It was like you and the fires. You kept building more and more and more and you couldn't stop. I started stealing stuff and I couldn't stop." She blushes bright red when I mention the fires. "Please MaddiGrace! You have to help me!" I plead. She sighs.

"Come on" I slip Tex's watch in my pocket (he's not getting that back any time soon).We sneak past Jack's, Karen's, Celia's and Finnegan's rooms to the elevator. We ride down to the floor of the Training Room./ MaddiGrace tries the door but it's locked. I reach into my pocket and pull out a set of keys.

"Here, try these" MaddiGrace raises her eyebrows at me, but takes the keys. She puts a key into the slit and the door clicks open.

"Unbelievable." She says, shaking her head disapprovingly at me. I shrug and walk in. We put everything back in its place and rush back to the elevator. "You _so _owe me" MaddiGrace informs me.

"Pyro" I mutter.

"Klepto" She shoots back. We glare at each other, then laugh quietly for no reason. Not once does she deny that she's a pyromaniac, which is just as well because I don't deny that I'm a kleptomaniac. no sense denying what we both know is true.

**Okay, it's a little corny, I know, but I liked it anyway and I hope you did too. I'd like to thank anyone who has reviewed my story and has been reading it. Pleeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaase review again! It's my first fanfiction and I'm desperate! So pretty please with cherries and whip cream on top review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi Hi! Sorry about the misspelling on the top, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIX IT! I hope you like the chapter. Enjpy!**

**MaddiGrace's POV**

The next week of Training is a lot of the same. A few guys follow me around, Sam's pack of followers try to get him to notice them. I get a little carried away at the fire station, Sam occasionally steals a box of matches or a set of keys and we have to sneak down to return them. This becomes our normal.

When the week ends, we have private sessions with the Gamekeepers, where we show them what we're best at. Sam's designed some kind of trap attached to a spear. When he throws the spear, a net will fly out and capture his target so he/she/it can't dodge the spear.

"Isn't it a little risky using something you designed?" I ask when he tells us his plan. Sam shrugs. "What if it doesn't work?"

"What if it does?" He makes a good point. If I were a Gamekeeper that would impress me. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. Something involving fire, archery, and knife throwing. I'm hoping that inspiration will come when I walk into the Training Room for my session.

I walk down twelve sets of stairs to the waiting room with Sam. District 12 goes last and we'd rather spend our time going down stairs than waiting and worrying in the waiting room with all the other tributes. When we get there, the boy from District 11 is leaving and the girl is walking into the Training Room for her turn. We wait in silence until the girl comes out and it's time for Sam's session.

"Good luck. I hope it works." I say. Sam smiles warmly.

"Thanks." He comes back out about five minutes later. "Have you been inspired yet?"

"Nope" I say simply, popping the "P". He shakes his head disapprovingly.

"Good luck." I grin at him and walk in. I feel dizzy and the world starts to spin. Then I smile like and idiot. Inspiration has struck.

I walk up to the fire starting station and get a box of matches. I go to the archery station and light all the targets on fire. The Gamekeepers are shocked but they watch in perfect silence. I pick up a bow and arrows. Each target is completely masked by flames and I can't see the rings. I bite my tongue with my front teeth and narrow my eyes in concentration as I aim and fire into the center of the flames. I finish shooting the arrows and grab twelve knives. Carefully, I hurl each of the knives at the twelve burning targets. I put out the fires to reveal my work. Every arrow has hit the bulls eye and is split down right down the middle by a knife. Much better results than I expected. The Gamekeepers look extremely impressed.

"You may go" The Head Gamekeeper says.

"Thank you for your time" I reply politely after all, I may be a whack job, but my parents raised me right). I bow a little bit and exit quickly.

I ride up in the elevator. When I get to level 12, Sam is sitting in the TV room waiting with a worried look on his face. "How did it go?"

"You sound like you're expecting bad news." I answer in shock. "I'd think you of all people would have a little more faith in me."

"Well you didn't have any idea of what you were going to do when I left"

"For your information, I happened to do great." Sam perks up a bit.

"Really? What did you do?"

"I set the archery targets on fire-"

"Oh god" he interrupts, rubbing his head like he has a migraine.

"Then I shot a bulls eye on each one and split each arrow down the middle with knives." I finish. Sam looks shocked.

"Really? Oh my gosh, MaddiGrace that's great!" He exclaims.

"How did your session go?"

"It went great! The trap worked even better than I had hoped! The Gamekeepers looked really impressed. I got to use it a couple times and it worked really well each time!" He says, his face glowing with excitement.

"Sam that's awesome!" I squeal. I hug him and he turns red. I can't imagine why. I always hug him. I'm a hugger!

We go eat dinner with our mentors. No stylists today. We don't eat much. Too anxious to see how we did. Finally the time comes when they reveal our scores. I sit on the floor a few inches from the tv, and I'm sure I look like a little kid watching Saturday morning cartoons, but I don't care.

They show a few pictures of each tribute: one of them at the reaping, their arrival, at the parade, and then just an old yearbook picture. There's a different song playing in the background for each tribute. The girl from District 3, Amy Roberts, got "Rock Star" by P!nk. Tex is "City" by Hollywood Undead. It comes to Sam. There's a picture of him hugging me and comforting me on the Reaping Day, one of him laughing on the train, another of him flexing his muscles for the crowd at the parade, and lastly, his freshman yearbook picture. It's a nice picture, his hair messy in all the right places, him smiling a crooked that makes him look utterly adorkable. His score: and eleven. The highest score all night. His theme song is "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down.

Last, but hopefully not least, is MaddiGrace Moore. Me. The first picture is me on the Reaping Day, my eyes wide and my skin pale. Then the one of me making faces at the other tributes, cross-eyed, my tongue sticking out, and my cheeks blown up. Attractive (not). The next one is of me almost kissing Sam at the parade, and last of all, my freshman year photo. In the picture, my black hair is perfectly curled, my cheeks are rosy red, my eyes are ciolet and there's a bright smile on my face. My theme song is "Hot Mess" by Cobra Starship. My score: a perfect 12. Mt eyes widen in shock as everyone around me celebrates our good scores. _There has to be a mistake, _I think. I was good, but not that good! Was I?

**Well, It's not the best chapter, but it's okay right? A little short, but okay. I hope you liked reading it, I enjoyed writing it. Reviews por favor!**


	9. Chapter 9

**hey, I'm back! Sorry, it's been, like forever since I last updated this story. I got caught up writing another fanfiction and when I got back to this one I got an extreme case of writer's block. It sucked. But I got over it and here we are. Now, without further adieu, here's the story. Enjoy!**

**Jack's POV**

Well, the time has come to get the brats ready for their interviews. Great. Every man's dream, teaching a sixteen year old boy how to smile, wave, and look pretty. Sure, it sucks that the kid's in the Hunger Games, sure, his best friend had the same crappy luck but they act like they're freaking five years old! No, I don't hate them, and no, I'm not a bitter old crackpot (I'm only 29), I'm an army veteran, and I'm treating them way nicer than I was treated in training. My buddies would say I'm babying them. That I've become a softy.

"Okay, let's work on the angle you're going for. Should you be fierce, funny, nice, a ruthless killing machine, the 'pretty-boy'?" I say to the boy, Sam. Karen's training his district partner MaddiGrace separately. Without his little friend around, he's not all smiles and sunshine. I would even say he's sulking.

"Does it matter?" He replies pessimistically. The boy's done a complete 180. Sam's practically a different person.

"Yes it matters." He rolls his eyes at me. "Do you want to win this or not? Without sponsors, you will DIE out there!" I yell harshly. He laughs, but there's no happiness, no humor.

"Trust me, I'm not making it out of that arena alive, sponsors or no sponsors."

"Well that's no way to be thinking. Don't count yourself out yet" I channel my inner Karen and try to be supportive.

"YOU DON'T GET IT DO YOU?" the boy snaps. "This isn't a game, not to me! The winner can't be me, it'll be her."

"Look, I know MaddiGrace is your best friend, but is she worth giving up everything for. Why would you die for her?"

"I'm not going to live. Not without her." He states simply.

"But why?" Suddenly, Sam's shoes become the most interesting thing in the room and he stares at them with captivation. Realization dawns on me. "You love her." I say softly. He nods.

I think for a moment. It's not supposed to be like this. Karen's supposed to look after the girl and I'm supposed to keep Sam alive. The problem before me is difficult. How could I choose to sit back and watch him die? But am I cruel enough to dare let him live?

**MaddiGrace's POV**

Tonight is the nigh of our interview, and I've got to admit, I'm a little bit nervous. I have to do well if I want to get sponsors and have any chance of surviving. Karen has practiced it with me time and time again, but it'll be different getting interviewed by Andy Leland. Who knows what he'll say.

I've been waiting for Celia for ten minutes. I'm about to leave when she bursts through the door.

"I had the best idea ever!" She exclaims. "I'm going to make you a pixie!" I stare at her in disbelief.

"A what?

"A pixie," she repeats, exploding with excitement.

"Did you have too much loop and not enough fruit in your cereal this morning?"

"Huh?" She gives me a confused look.

"You know. Are you a little cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs?" I ask, tapping her head. She gets it now.

"Oh shut up!" She says, swatting my hand away good naturedly. "You'll look cute I promise." Apparently I don't look convinced. "Would I lie to you?" She adds.

"Yes" I say with false conviction. Celia smiles and shoves me into the dressing room. I pull on the dress. It's pink and strapless and the skirt goes out almost horizontally in little leafy waves of cloth almost like a tutu, except cute. It ends five or six inches above my knee. Wrapped around my stomach is a brown belt that laces vertically in the front down the center of my belly. I exit the dressing room and she pins my hair back in a loose bun with curly strands hanging down on both sides of my face, thin, but visible to the audience. She does my make up with a silver eyeliner pencil and light colored eye shadow. She uses a brush to dust just a teensy bit of glitter over my cheeks. She wraps pink and brown ribbons crisscross around my legs up to my knee, where she knots the ribbons together and let's the long ends hang freely. She does the same thing with pink and silver ribbons on the top half of my right arm from my elbow to my shoulder with a little bow at the top. Celia's decided that I'll go barefoot as to not ruin the effect of the ribbons. She carefully paints my nails silver with metallic turquoise swirls.

She takes one quick look at me, beams, and shoves me in front of a mirror. "Do you like it? Do you love it?" She asks. My skin is sparkling with the glitter she dusted over it and I look natural and carefree. I look magical. For just a moment, I almost believe I'm a pixie.

"Love it. Definitely love it." Her face is glowing with excitement and pride.

"Come on, you're gonna be late!" Celia drags me out of the dressing room to the auditorium where we'll be interviewed. "Good luck! I know you'll be great" She says. She gives me a quick hug, then rushes off to find her seat. I skip off to the seats in the very back where all the other tributes have gathered. I'm the only one that's opted to go barefoot. A little embarrassing, but _they_ don't get to be pixies.

I see Sam sitting in one of the two District 12 seats. I run over to him.

"Hi ya' lil' Sammy!" I say. I drop into the seat next to him. He looks at my outfit in slight shock. I'm the only one that's dressed anything like this. All the other girls look like they're heading off to the Homecoming dance and I look like I belong in a Disney princess movie. (But Disney princesses trump Homecoming queens any day in my book.)

"Let me guess. Ballerina?" He asks.

"Pixie actually." he laughs and I slap him in the arm. "Look at you all high and mighty! What are you supposed to be? Barbie's boyfriend Ken?" He glares.

"Yes. That's exactly what I'm supposed to be." Sam replies sarcastically. I laugh.

"So Jack decided on the pretty-boy thing for you?" I ask. He smirks.

"Aw. You think I'm pretty MaddiGrace?" That remark earns him a slug in the gut. "Oof!" He doubles over (I'm _a lot _stronger than I look.) "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Pixies don't punch. Walt Disney would be ashamed of you right now." He tells me, shaking his head disapprovingly. I stick my tongue out at him.

The room begins to buzz with noise as the audience fills in. Out of the corner of my eye, I see people staring, pointing and Sam and me and whispering. _What are you looking at? _I think. I glance at Sam's outfit. Pretty normal. A white button down shirt, a black jacket, a loose-hanging black tie, black pants, and his White Sox hat. Nothing out of this world. _I can't believe Finnegan gave his baseball cap the okay. _Anyways, besides my pixie get-up, there's nothing all that interesting about us. Suddenly it hits me. _Oh yea! We got the highest scores! _I remember. _We're friggin' awesome! _I decide to ignore them. I learn that Sam's angle is pretty-boy, funny nice guy, and also tough guy. I tell him that I'm supposed to be pretty, sweet as apple pie, but somehow I have to try to look dangerous. Both our trainers want us to put an emphasis on the fact that we're best friends.

Andy Leland walks on stage and begins to make jokes. It's show time. Everyone rushes to their seats. A few minutes into his monologue, he calls the girl from District 1, Molly Sands, up to the stage while "Summerboy" by Lady Gaga plays. As soon as she was up on stage, he calls Flynn Fitzpatrick up, playing "Growing Up" in the background. District partners are going to be interviewed at the same time. The interviews go pretty well for everyone. Tex is a clear crowd favorite. They're going wild from the moment he sprints out to stage singing along to "El Scorcho" by Weezer (he's extremely tone-deaf by the way). The twelve year olds are so damn adorable even I would want to sponsor them, and I'm broke. Grant Anderson, the kid who played along with my pretend cowboy gunfight, runs out to "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi. His interview is pretty fucking hilarious. Finally, it's our turn.

Andy calls me up and "Lovesick" by Emily Osment comes on. Everyone else was in a huge rush to get on stage, but I decide to take my time. I strut down the aisle like a super short runway model, waving, blowing kisses, and of course, singing along and dancing. The crowd eats it up. I reach the stage and Andy calls Sam up. "Good Girls Go Bad" by Cobra Starship starts blasting out of the speakers. Sam jogs out, high-fiving everyone he passes, whooping and hollering. The ends of his long-ish blonde hair stick out from beneath his baseball hat. He kind of reminds me of a jock dressed up for Homecoming. He's in the center of the aisle, halfway to the stage, jumping up and down and pumping his fists like a rock star. The audience loves him.

Finally, he gets to the stage and we take a seat on the couch behind us. Andy waits as the cheering from the crowd dies down.

"Wow. Quite the reception, huh guys?" We smile and nod. "You've made quite the impression on your audience. With your performance at the opening ceremony, and your charisma, and your designers work on you. Oh and don't even get me started on your training scores! Eleven and twelve! I'm still geeking out about it!" Everyone laughs. "SO, I'm dying to know, how'd you pull off those scores?"

"That, my friend, is classified information." Sam informs him. Andy looks at me pleadingly.

"Oh come on. Just a hint?"

"Sorry, our lips are sealed." I tell him. Andy looks slightly put out.

"Fine, let's move onto something else then. How about the reaping?" We nod our consent. "So, your reactions were very interesting. MaddiGrace, your discontent was obvious. Hugging Sam? That had to be one of the most touching things I've ever seen. Are you two maybe dating?" He accuses, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course not!" I insist immediately. "Sam's my best friend." That earns some awwing from the audience.

"Aw, that's cute. How about District 12's reaction? They didn't seem all that happy."

"Well, everyone know we've been best friends our whole lives. They didn't like that after the games… we're never going to see each other again." Sam's voice gets softer at the end of the sentence. The audience calls out their sympathies.

"That is some bad luck" We both nod. "Now, I might be hearing things, but I could have sworn I heard a few people yell "Not the twins!"

"You heard correctly" I assure him.

"But you guys clearly aren't related! You look nothing alike!"

"It's true. We're both from the Seam, but I have the Town look." Sam says, flipping his hair Justin Bieber style.

"Sam and I were both born the same day minutes apart, we're next door neighbors, and we've been inseparable since birth. We're also Gemini, the twins, so people nicknamed us the twins." I explain.

"Hmm, interesting. Like your outfits. What do you think of getting dressed up?" Andy inquires.

"Despite the monkey suit I'm in now, Finnegan doesn't make me look like a doofus, so I'm cool with it." Sam replies. Andy looks to me.

"What about you MaddiGrace?"

"I absolutely love Celia's taste in clothes! The pixie look rocks! But I do feel a little bit like a Barbie doll." I confess. Suddenly, the Barbie Girl song starts playing from the back of the room. Tex jumps out of his feet, waving his iPod in the air.

"Haha, very funny!" I yell to him.

"Um, Tex? Why do you have that song on your iPod?" Sam asks. Good question.

"Ah, the question is, why don't _you?_" Tex calls.

"Who says we don't?" I retort.

"Do you?" he asks accusingly.

"Hells yea!" Sam and I shout in unison. Sam pulls our iPods out of the pockets if his "monkey suit" and tosses mine to me. We both start blasting "Barbie Girl." We cut the song short and shout "Owned!" The crowd howls with laughter.

"Sam? Really?" Andy asks pointedly. Sam turns bright red.

"_She _uploaded it on there! I'm an innocent victim!" He insists.

"Guilty as charged." I reply impassively.

"So, I hate to interrupt your happiness, but there's a question that I have to ask."

"Shoot" Sam allows him.

"When the time comes, will you guys turn on each other?" We're shocked at Andy. Isn't it obvious?

"Of course not! I could never hurt my lil' Sammy!" I exclaim, pinching Sam's cheeks. He whacks my hand away.

"And I could never hurt sweet, innocent little MaddiGrace!" he says. Sam stands, scoops me up and rocks me like a baby.

"Sam! Put me down!" I screech, pounding my fists on his chest. He smirks.

"Well, she's little anyway." I scowl at him. "Besides, I've got a promise to keep." The buzzer sounds just as he finishes. Cliff hanger!

"Wait! What's the promise!" Andy pleads. Sam shrugs.

"Sorry Andy. We're out of time." Sam throws me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Adieu, adieu, to you and you."

"Auf Weider-sehen!" The crowd looks at me in confusion. I translate, "Goodbye!" I wave and blow kisses as Sam carries me back to our seats.

When we get back, I go straight to my room and change into my pajamas. I'm glad to go to sleep. It's been a long day and tomorrow will be even longer. Tomorrow, the Games begin.

**So, what'd you think? Did you like seeing a different side of Sam? I hope so. I thought it was interesting writing through Jack's point of view. Well, anyways, I really hope you liked it, and I would be much obliged if you were to review my story.  
>Sam: You know MaddiGrace, if you're Barbie, and I'm Ken, that makes me your boyfriend.<br>MaddiGrace: OH shut up Sam. You know it was a joke. It meant nothing. I'm NOT gonna date my best friend. I don't think of you that way.  
>Me: Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that MG.<br>MaddiGrace: What's that supposed to mean?  
>Me: Hahahahaha. You'll find out soon enough. Peace peoples!<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:**

Hey guys. I'm really sad to have to write this for a few reasons, primarily because author's notes are the bane of my existence. It's been a while since I updated, I got grounded from the computer twice since the last time I updated. I've been writing more chapters and it hasn't been going well. MaddiGrace and Sam have been getting really out of character, and I'm not at all happy with where the story is going. It makes me feel icky. The characters have been becoming sick and sadistic and I don't want it to be like that. I'm sorry to report that I am discontinuing this story. Just assume that MaddiGrace and Sam both somehow survived the Games and never killed anyone, then lived happily ever after and got married at some point. That's how I was planning on ending it anyway. So, once again, I'm really sorry to anyone who wanted to get an actual ending. Also, please check out my Lord of the Flies fanfic, The Fate of the Boys, it's a lot better than this one is, and also I'll be adding a Gallagher Girls fanfic, so please check out those stories if you get the chance. C'ya!


	11. Chapter 11

**Hiya peoples! Yea, so I know I haven't updated this story, cuz I decided not to finish it, but something came to mind yesterday. Just cuz I personally don't have time to finish it, doesn't mean someone else might not want to. So I'm putting this story up for adoption. That's right, the first hunger games, the first fanfiction I ever wrote, the most sacred in my collection, is up for grabs. Anyone who wants it, PM me. But, this is not for the weak of heart. Before I can put this up for grabs, I have a few guidelines to inform you of before you take on this story.**

**1. Tex Houston- this guy is important. I was going to give him this whole big back story: spent his life in a hospital for the criminally insane, escaped when the Capitol took over, has a psychotic breakdown, tries to kill MaddiGrace, yada yada yada. Those elements are required. How you write it is up to you. He can have a crush on her and get rejected, see her as a threat and try to get rid of her, decide to kill her for the heck of it, whatever you want. He just has to have the psychotic breakdown.**

**2. MaddiGrace Moore- MaddiGrace may seem fun loving and goofy, but in a way, she was going to be like a wild animal. She's dangerous when she's scared. In the arena, if she feels threatened, her first instinct is to defend herself. I'd also like it if you keep her kind of goofy in parts but it's up to you.**

**3. Sam Holloway- He's the biggy. Sam is the protector, the voice of reason, the best friend, the secret admirer. Sam can only kill to protect MaddiGrace. ONly then is he violent, he doesn't want to kill anyone. He stays true to his personality no matter what. He comforts MaddiGrace, protects her from harm, does everything he can to make sure it's her that returns home. Sam has to live. Sam has to get the girl. I'll go insane if that doesn't work out.**

**4. Sam and MaddiGrace both have to make it out somehow. I don't care how you do it, just do it.**

**5. This is optional. I'd like it if you occasionally switched points of view and include nightmares that Sam and MaddiGrace have throughout the story. You don't have to though, it's completely up to you.**

**So yea. THat's it. If you want to adopt the story, PM me. If there's something about my guidelines you don't like, PM me about it and we can work something out. I'm flexible, I just hate to see my first story go unfinished. This is my pride and joy people, make me proud!**


	12. READ! CONTAINS IMPORTANT SHIZZ!

**UPDATE! Yup, bet you people weren't expecting that. To be quite frank, I wasn't expecting it either, but I feel the need to let you people know a little something about this story. And, cuz I'm cool like that, this will be delivered in several paragraphs. Yeah, I haven't really matured much since you all last saw me.**

**Aaaanywho, this story is no longer up for adoption. No, no one has adopted it. Well, actually, they have, but none of them actually finished it, so I decided screw it, ain't nobody touching my baby. I will not be finishing this story, I'm sad to say, but the characters shall live on! Sort of. You know why? Because I am writing a sequel of sorts that follows the adventures of two never-before-seen characters (Ace and Layla Bartman) and one ROCKY MOORE during the fourth Hunger Games. That's right, Rocky gets his very own time to shine in the Hunger Games. And here is my explanation of why.**

**I have had several Hunger Games ideas since this one. One was a Quarter Quell in which almost everything in the arena was drugged. Another was the story of Rocky Moore, which I will expand on in a later paragraph, and another was the story of two siblings with a hankering for chess AND MURDER being put in the Hunger Games and having no qualms about killing each other.**

**I will explain the Rocky Moore thing first. You see, I had a whole epilogue planned out for The First Hunger Games, or as it's now named, I Can't Live Without You, which was more of a timeline than a chapter. It would follow the lives of Sam's and MaddiGrace's family after the tragic end to their time in the Hunger Games, starting with Rocky Moore being reaped for the fourth Games and being the first and last person to get someone pregnant in the arena. Yup. And I liked that idea. Then I figured, I can't write through a boy's perspective for shit, so I needed a female narrator, and thus Layla Bartman was born, and Rocky became a supporting character instead of the hero. Then I decided that Layla needed to have some serious hang-ups, so I gave her a real weird family with a cute younger brother and a real weird older brother, and I liked the real weird older brother so much that I threw him in there too. And then Pawns and Kings was born into the world. I will probably be posting it a little later today, and I would love for you all to check it out! It explains everything that would've happened in this story and expands on the characters you knew and loved in this. I really hope you'll all read and review! Toodles!**


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